Alcohol heater for refrigerator cars



Jan- 15, 1952 l.. A. BENEDICT r-:T AL 2,582,900

ALCOHOL HEATER FOR REFRIGERATOR cARs Filedmay 1o, 194e 5 sheets-sheet 1 3mm/tons 33 RMR www Jan. 15, 1952 A. BENEDICT ET AL ALCOHOL HEATER FOR REFRIGERATOR OARs 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May l 10, 1946 Jaml 15, 1952 L.. A. BENEDICT ET AL 2,582,900

ALCOHOL HEATER FOR REFRIGERATOR CARS Filed May 10, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jan. 15, 1952 1 A. BENEDICT ET AL. 2,582,900

ALCOHOL HEATER F OR REFRIGERTOR CARS Filed May l0, 1946 5 Sheecs--Sheei'l 4 gmc/WM5 Jan- 15, 1952 L. A. BENEDICT ETAL ALCOHCL HEATEBFOR REFRIGERTOR CARS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 10, 1946 BWI] T., WO W ,1| f. QH v NK. R a QHMM @gm mwm @m .Nmh wm h.. W mw w /y// www MW W5, M mv n WWW w\ m f Y v\ Nar WN vx. W hk V 1 z lfr/ Patented Jan. 15, 1952 ALCOHOL HEATER FOR REFRIGERATOR CARS Louis Allan Benedict and William J. Klauer,

Dubuquer Iowa, assignors to Klauer Manufacturing Company, Dubuque, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Applicationv May 10, 1946', Serial No. 668,829

3 Claims;

.This invention relates to railroad car heaters employing liquid` fuel. In particular the invention relates to an alcohol heater for use in a railroad car, such as an insulated refrigerator car, employed for shipping perishable articles such as fruits and vegetables. Particularly inthe winter, it is necessary to heat such cars` tol prevent the goods being damaged by freezing. Such heaters must not only be rugged and sturdy. so. as to withstand the treatment to whichV they are subjected during travel, but. they mustbe reliable in operation. It is ak principal object of the invention to provide such a heater.

Certain types. of fruits and vegetables will readily spoil if the temperature of the railroad car is not maintainedwithin a very narrow temperature range. Consequently, it is an important object of the invention to provide a railroad -car heater which may be accurately controlled to maintain the temperature of the car within a re1- atively narrow temperature range.

It is further an object of the invention to provide a heater with a fuel control mechanism' including upper and lower fuel compartments, the lower fuel compartment receiving fuel from` the vision of a main burner of annular shape, said burner being hollow to provideai circulating chamber and having near its lower surface a vaporizing chamber adapted tov receive liquid fuel from a fuel supply, the` vaporizing chamber being disposed adjacent the pilot burnertobe heat-'- ed thereby. In accordance with the invention the vaporizing chamber may be'provided with a bimetallic control valve which operates to prevent the entrance of fuel, to the vaporizing chamber until the temperature ofthe chamber has been raised to a sufcient degree by the pilot burner disposed adjacent thereto.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a. railroad car heater of cylindrical shape with a cylindrical chimney which is disposed within and at one side of the heater, the upper portion of the heater containing a liquid fuelv tankV of crescent design andJ which fills the upper portion of the heater With the exception of the cham- `ney which is disposed within the space'dened by become more apparent from thel following description and claims when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the complete heater partially broken away in section to show the internal construction;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view ofthe main body of the heater; A

Fig. 3 is a sectional View of the`base on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 showing the burner and the fuel control mechanisms in elevation;

Fig. 4 is a top view of the base;

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the heat control lever assembly;

Fig. 6 is the top plan view of the burner (enlarged) Fig. 'l is an enlarged sectional view through the main burner and the pilotburner;A

Fig. 8 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the fuel control mechanism;

Fig. 9 is an end view of the same and Fig. 10 is a top view of the same.

The present invention like most of the charcoal and liquid fuel railroad car heaters is housed' in a two-part structure comprising a cylindrical' base 2 and an upper cylindrical shell 3 both advantageously constructed of sheet metal such as galvanized steel or the like.

The cylindrical base 2 is provided with two spaced annular beads 4 and 5. The, groove formed I by thelower bead ,4 formsa retaining means vfor the sheet metal bottom 6, the edge of which engaged in said groove and, secured therein.,

The upper bead. 5,.Which is near the upper edge of the base 2, serves. as. a shoulder for the. lower edge of the upper cylindrical shell 3 when the latter is placed on the base 2 in assembled position.

The cylindrical base 2 is provided with a plurality of openings 1 in its side walls for the admission of the air necessary for combustion. The cylindrical base 2 supports and encloses the burner mechanism, and the fuel control mechanism.

The main burner 8, the details of which will be p later described, is supported above the bottom B by means of' a number of bolts a threaded at each end to receive pairs of nuts I0. The bolts 9 at .their upper ends extend through apertures in the burner ring II, and at their lower ends they extend through apertures in the bottom 6'. In fact the whole structure, as will be noted from the drawings, is supported on the bolts 9 for they ex tend through the base 6. It will be noted that the arrangement provides substantial support for the burner 8 and permits some adjustment in the height of the burner. A

The pilot burner |2 is also supported by means of a bolt I3 which passes through the bottom 6 and is threadedly secured in the bottom Ill of the pilot burner.

The cylindrical base 2 also houses and supports a liquid fuel control mechanism generally designated as I5, for supplying the proper amount of fuel to the main burner 8, through conduit I6, and to the pilot burner I2, through the conduit I1. The liquid fuel control mechanism I includes a thermostatic device I8, both mechanisms being secured together as a unit and being supported within the cylindrical base 2 by means of the bracket I9 which may be secured to the inner Wall of the cylindrical base 2 by welding, brazing or the like.

The structure and operation of the main burner, pilot burner, liquid fuel control mechanism' and other elements within the cylindrical base 2, constitute vital parts of the present invention. However, before describing these elements and Ltheir operation in detail it is well to describe briey the remaining main parts of the heater. The upper cylindrical shell 3 is circumferentially corrugated as shown so as to stiffen it. This upper cylindrical shell 3 is provided with a reinforcing band 20 having apertures for the ends of the lifting handle or bale 2| and apertured ears 22 to permit the heater to be anchored to the wall of a railroad car or the like.

'I'he upper cylindrical shell 3, on one side (see Fig. 2) houses a cylindrical chimney 23, the lower portion of which is fitted with a frustoconical member 24. One wall of the chimney 23 is bolted to the cylindrical shell 3 by the bolts and nuts 25 and 26 respectively.

'I'he upper cylindrical shell 3 also contains a liquid fuel tank 21- which is crescent-shaped in section so as to extend around the chimney 23 as much as possible (see Fig. 2).

The fuel tank 21 is provided with a fill cap 2B on its upper surface to enable the tank to be filled. Fuel from the tank 21 passes through the exit conduit 29 controlled by the tap-cock 30 which is adapted to be connected to the fuel `control mechanism I5.

From Fig. 2 it will be seen that the chimney 23 and the fuel tank 21 are separated by a partition 3| which at each edge is secured to the wall of the upper cylindrical shell 3 by the ybolts 32 and nuts 33. The fuel tank 21 is supported by means of two brackets 34, 35, one end of each of which is secured to the wall of the heater shell 3, the other end being bolted to the partition 3| by the bolts 36 which also pass through the wall of the chimney 23. The partition 3| is held in spaced relation to the chimney 23 by means of the spacers 31 on the bolts 36, the whole being rigidly secured by the nuts 38.

The space between the fuel tank 21 and the partition 3| may be filled with insulation material 39 to protect the fuel tank 21, this insulation 39, ln fact, being the only insulation necessary in the complete heater.

. The side wall of the upper cylindrical shell 3 adjacent the chimney 23 is provided with a series of openings 40 and 4| to permit the heat to escape to the space to be heated.

Reference is now had to Figs. 3, 4, 6 and 7 which illustrate the main burner 8. This burner 8 is comprised of an annular hollow member the upper surface 42 of which is provided with a plurality of radial ridges 43 each having a series of burner ports 44 therein.

The main portion of the annular hollow member constitutes a circulating chamber 45 for the fuel vapors, which chamber'enables the fuel to be distributed evenly to the various burner ports 44.

The lower part of the circulating chamber 45 at one point is joined to a downwardly extending hollow cylindrical member 46 the interior of which, as will be described, comprises a Vaporizing chamber 41 having a side inlet 48 which is connected by the conduit I6 to the fuel control mechanism I5. The vaporizing chamber 41 contains a, U-shaped bi-metallic element 49 one end of which carries a button valve member 50 adapted to block the inlet 48. Element 49 tends to straighten out when cool and bends its downwardly extending arms toward each other when heated, and functions to maintain inlet 48 closed until chamber 41 has been heated sufficiently by the pilot burner.

The main burner 8 may advantageously be constructed of a combination of cast parts and sheet metal. The upper part of the burner which is provided with the radial ridges 43 having the burner ports 44 may be of cast material. The lower part of the burner which is joined to cylindrical member 48 may also be of cast metal. The walls of the central portion comprising the circulating chamber 45 are preferably constructed of sheet metal which may be brazed, welded or otherwise joined to the top and bottom parts of the burner.

As will be appreciated from Fig. 7 the outer wall of the central portion of the burner is frusto-conical in shape. The inner wall 5| of the central portion of the burner is cylindrical and is formed with an annular groove 52 to receive the three arms 53 of the flame spreader 54 (see Figs. 6 and '7).

Disposed below the main burner 8 and concentrically with respect thereto is the pilot burner I2 which is comprised of a cylindrical shell 55 and a base member 56 (see Fig. '1) secured to the bottom 6 of the heater (Fig. l) by means of the bolt I3 and nut I4. The cylindrical shell 55 of the pilot burner I2 is filled with a wick 59 of asbestos or similar material adapted to receive fuel from the base member 56 through the conduit |1 leading to the fuel control mechanism I5.

The fuel control mechanism I5 is shown in detail in Figs. 8 and 9 as being comprised of a casing 60 of generally rectangular shape and divided intermediate its top and bottom by a horizontal partition 6I to form an upper fuel compartment 62 for supplying fuel to the main burner 8 and a lower fuel compartment 63 for supplying fuel to the pilot burner I2.

The upper fuel compartment 62 is adapted to receive fuel from the fuel tank 21 ,of the heater through a conduit 64 which connects with an inlet nipple 65 of a valve device 65, secured to the top of the casing 60. As shown in Fig. 8, the valve device 65 may, advantageously, be formed integrally with the top wall of the casing 6I).

The valve device 66 includes a chamber 61 in whichris ;disposed astem .68, the lower portion of fthe stem being Vmounted in the top of the casing `6|). The .stem 68 is ,provided with `a centra-llborefS which communicates with the chamber `61 through the small openings 18 and ll. The upper portion of the bore 69 is closed by the screw 'l2 which aids in securing the stem 68 `in place. Intermediate its length, the bore 59 is provided with a `construction 'i3 and below the constriction the bore 69 loosely encloses 'a valve member 14 which valve member when in raised position is adapted to close the constriction VT3 and `thus prevent fuel from ,passing through the valve `to theupper fuel .compartment 82.

The upper fuel .compartment 62 contains a float 7.5 -mounted on an .arm 18 pivoted to a bracket TI secured to the inner 4walls of the upper fuel compartment. The arm 'f6 is provided with a spring member .18 which .engages the lower end ofthe valvemember 14.

It should now beevident that as the upper fuel compartment `E?. is filled with fuel, the `iioat I5 will rise and finally the spring member 1.8 will cause the valve member 'i4 to close the constriction 'I3 thus shutting off the supply of fuel to the upper fuel compartment.

The fuel control mechanism I5 includes a nee dle valve device 'i9 which is mounted in an extension of the casing 6I). This needle valve device 19 is illustrated -toadvantage in Figs. 8 and 9. as comprising a casing portion 8|) which may be integral with the main casing 68 and which is provided with a vertical Ybore 8| terminating in a ffuel chamber 82 the lower end of which is connected by means of an elbow joint 83 with the conduit I6 leading to the inlet of the main burner 8.

A valve stem 84 is vertically slideable in the bore 8| which valve stem terminates in a valve head 85which in its lower position is adapted to close the fuel outlet of the valve device 19. A spring 86 surrounding the stem 84 bears at one end against the valve head 85 and at its other against the upper wall of the chamber 82 so as to yurge the valve head 35 downwardly into closed position. The chamber 82 is adapted to receive fuel from the upper fuel compartment 82 through a small opening 8l.

The upper end of the valve stem 84 terminates in a button head 88, Mounted on the casing 6|! to stand upwardly therefrom is a bracket 89, on which is pivotally mounted as at 9E) `a fulcrum lever 9|. From Fig. 5 it will be observed that the lever 9| is of U-shaped cross-section. The short end of the ylever 9| is provided with .a slot for engaging the .stem 8d beneath the `button head 88. The long end of the lever 9| is connected to the stem 92 of the thermostat device i8 The thermostat devicemay be of the conventional variety operated for example by a bellows element H2 so as to raise tliestem 92 and the long arm of the lever 9| gradually as the temperature increases. Such action, as will be apparent, results in the valve headt closing the valve, thus shutting off the Ysupply of fuel to the main burn- When the space .adapted Vto be heated by the heater becomes cool, the vbellows element of the thermostat I8 moves in the other direction to pull down the long arm of the lever 9| causing the short arm to rise, thus moving the valve stem 84 upwardly and opening the valve so .as to cause the flow of fuel from the upper fuel compartment 62 to the `main burner 8. The amount .of

upward movement of vthe valve stem 84 may be .controlled andregulated by means of a regulating `screw 83 in a laterally extending arm 94 Vof the bracket 89. 'I'he regulating screw 93 maybe locked in any position by means of the locknut e5.

Referring now to Ythe thermostat I8 and vwith vreference to Figs. 3, 5 and 8, the thermostat Vhas been shown as of the `bellows type having la bellows element II 2 and a Vstem 92 adapted to be raised and lowered by the bellows element I|2 to actuate the arm 9|.

.In the thermostat shown the adjustment `for the various temperature settings is accomplished by changing the length of the link 92 between the lever 9| and the bellows element II2. 'Ihis .is done by moving the cam 98 to the setting .desired by means of a handle 96 secured on a rotatable stub shaft S'I on which the cam member 98 is secured. The handle 9d is provided with a spring pressed knob 99 adapted to be engaged in any 4one `of a series of depressions YIiill in a plate IDI. Each of the depressions |88 indicates a vparticular temperature. When cam 98 is moved lthe lever 9| is kept in constant contact with the cam member 98 by means of a leaf spring II3, Vthus causing the effective length of the link to become longer or shorter as the cam member 98 is moved on one direction or the other.

The stem 92 of the thermostat I8 is made up of two parts 92a, and 92h to allow for calibration of the instrument. This is done by turning part 92h within part 92a by means of a screw driver in the slot 82C. This causes part 92h to run on thread 92d thus adjusting the length of the link 92 to some predetermined temperature. After this has been done the lock nut 92e is set.

The lower fuel compartment 63 within the casing 89 is connected with the upper fuel compartment 62 by means of an opening |02 in the partition 6I. The opening |92 is surrounded by downwardly projecting `cylindrical member |83 provided with interior threads adapted to receive the valve device |84. The valve device IM has a central bore |85 the lower portion of which is enlarged to receive loosely a valve member |06. The lower end of the valve member |06 is engaged by a spring member E01 mounted on the float |88. The float |88, similarly to the iioat in the upper fuel compartment, is mounted on an arm ldd pivotally secured to the bracket IIO carried by an inner wall of the lower fuel compartment. The lower fuel compartment is provided with an outlet opening I II near its lower surface, vsaid outlet being connected by the conduit il to the pilot burner I2 so as to supply fuel to the pilot burner.

It should now be obvious that the lower fuel compartment VGil is adapted to be filled with fuel from the upper fuel compartment 62 through the opening |82 in the partition 6| and through the valve device |84. .As the fuel supply in the lower fuel. compartment 63 rises, the iioat V|118 will rise and eventually the spring member |01 will cause the valve .member 86 to close the bore I 05 in the valve device thus shutting off the supply of fuel from the upper fuel compartment to the lower fuel compartment.

It will be noted that the casing 58 thus contains two fuel compartments, the upper fuel cornpartrnent d2 being .adapted to supply fuel to the main burner il vand also through the float-controlled .valve device |94 to supply fuel to the lower fuel compartment 88, which in turn supplies the fuel' for the pilot burner I2.

It will be noted that the fuel supply to the main burner from the upper fuel compartment is carefully controlled and regulated by means of a needle valve stem 84 which in turn is controlled by the thermostat I8.

Assuming that the pilot burner has been lighted, and the railroad car is cold enough to require heat, the thermostat I8 will actuate the needle valve stem 84, thus causing a supply of fuel to pass from the upper fuel compartment 62 through the conduit I6 to the vaporizing chamber 4l of the main burner 8.

It will be noted that this vaporizing chamber 4l is closely adjacent to the pilot burner I2 so as to be heated thereby, thus vaporizing the fuel which rises into the annular circulating chamber 45 and then, in a vaporized condition, to the burner ports 44. The flame from the pilot burner is spread by the flame spreader 54 so as to hug the inner wall 5I of the burner, thus additionally heating the vapors within the circulating chamber 45 and also thus assuring combustion of the vapors at the burner ports 44. The pilot burner I2 thus serves the dual purpose of acting as a means of vaporizing the fuel for the main burner 8 as well as igniting the vapors emerging from the orices or ports 44 of the main burner.

It will be apparent that the invention provides a main burner having a vaporizing chamber with means for supplying fuel to the vaporizing chamber in amounts not to exceed the capacity of the chamber. This control means is, of course, the float valve and the needle valve operated by the thermostat for controlling the supply of fuel from the upper fuel compartment to the vaporizing chamber.

The pilot burner I2, as indicated, also serves the purpose of continuously heating the vaporizing chamber and through means of the flame spreader, heating the main burner so as to maintain it at a temperature necessary to prevent condensation of the vaporized fuel. A continuous supply of fuel to the pilot burner flame, sufricient to maintain the desired heat, is controlled by the float valve in the lower fuel compartment.

It now will also be appreciated that the bimetallic U-shaped element 49 in the vaporizing chamber 4l constitutes a safety device the purpose of which is to prevent fuel from entering the vaporizing chamber until the proper temperature has been reached. Since the vaporizing chamber is adjacent the pilot burner, it is apparent that the bi-metallic element 49- will remain in the closed position of Fig. 7 and will not bend and move button 5l! away from inlet 48 to permit the flow of fuel into the vaporizing chamber until the vaporizing chamber has been sufficiently heated by the pilot burner.

Little has been said herein regarding the type of fuel to be used. While any liquid fuel which is easily vaporized may be employed, the heater is especially designed to employ alcohol or the like which can be obtained in sufficient quantities conveniently even in small towns.

The device is simple in construction, sufciently rugged to withstand the effects of travel, and also sufficiently accurate to control the temperature of a railroad car within a narrowly dened ternperature range.

While it is obvious that changes in the structure and design may be made within the teachings of the invention, it should also be apparent that the invention is not to be limited in scope except as indicated by the language of the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a heater, a main burner comprising an annular hollow main burner element having a series of burner ports in its upper surface, said burner having wall means defining an inner annular space of said burner element which functions as a vapor circulating chamber, wall means forming a vaporizing chamber connecting with the lower portion of said circulating chamber, means for supplying said vaporizing chamber with a liquid Vaporizable fuel, and a pilot burner disposed beneath said annular element and adjacent said vaporizing chamber to heat the same to vaporize liquid fuel therein, said pilot burner being also disposed so that flame therefrom passes upwardly through the central opening formed by said annular burner element to ignite the vapor emerging from said series of burner ports, means for supplying liquid fuel to said pilot burner, and thermostatic valve means disposed in said vaporizing chamber to cut off the fuel supply to the vaporizing chamber until the same has been heated by the pilot burner to a predetermined temperature.

2. In a heater, a main burner having walls forming a hollow chamber, the uppermost of said walls having a series of burner ports in communication with the interior of the chamber, additional wall means forming a separate vaporizing chamber, conduit means connecting the vaporizing chamber with the hollow chamber of the main burner, means for supplying liquid vaporizable fuel to said vaporizing chamber, a continuously burning pilot burner disposed adjacent both said vaporizing chamber and said main burner ports for vaporizing liquid fuel in said vaporizing chamber, and for igniting vapor emerging from said main burner ports, the walls forming said main burner chamber being elongated and circular to give said main burner chamber a greater top to bottom height than width, and being rounded to form said main burner and chamber as an annulus having a central opening extending therethrough, said vaporizing chamber being disposed below a portion of said annulus, said conduit means connecting with the lower part of said main burner chamber to permit the extensive height of said chamber to assist in the even distribution of vapors to said burner ports, said pilot burner being disposed centrally below the opening in said annulus alongside said vaporizing chamber.

3. In a heater, a main burner having walls forming a hollow chamber, the uppermost of said walls having a series of burner ports in communication with the interior of the chamber, additional wall means forming a separate vaporizing chamber, conduit means connecting the vaporizing chamber with the hollow chamber of the main burner, means for supplying liquid vaporizable fuel to said vaporizing chamber, a continuously burning pilot burner disposed adjacent both said vaporizing chamber and said main burner ports for vaporizing liquid fuel in said vaporizing chamber, and for igniting vapor emerging from said main burner ports, the walls forming said main burner chamber comprising a hollow cylindrical inner wall, a frusto-conical outer wall, an annular top wall having a width substantially less than the height of said inner and outer walls. and a bottom wall joining said inner and outer walls, the main burner chamber thus dened having a greater height than width to facilitate even distribution of vapors to said burner ports, said vaporizing chamber being disposed below a portion of said bottom wall, said conduit means connecting with the lower part of said main burner chamber, said pilot burner being disposed centrally below and in axial alignment with said hol- 10W inner wall and alongside said vaporizing chamber, and a flame spreading element located inside and attached to said hollow inner wall in line with said pilot burner.

LOUIS ALLAN BENEDICT.

WILLIAM J. KLAUER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 243,495 Brainard June 28, 1881 255,245 Brainard Mar. 21, 1882 714,722 Macleod Dec. 2, 1902 Number Number Name Date Norstrom Mar. 16, 1909 Elster Oct. 28, 1919 Lamb Sept. 4, 1923 Sladky et al Nov. 12, 1929 Valjean Oct. 28, 1930 Finley Oct. 15, 1935 Crisenberry Dec. 17, 1935 Tullis Dec. 31, 1935 Bradbury Sept. 29, 1936 Wernli Jan. 23,1940 Breese et al Apr. 18, 1944 Landon July 30, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Apr. 12,1897 Germany June 15, 1931 France Apr. 5, 1932 

